Coupon culture

Friday

Jan 2, 2009 at 2:00 AM

‘Tis the season for sales. A longer season than usual since what used to be post-Christmas markdowns migrated to pre-Halloween last year. It’s a buyers’ market for those even inclined to buy. There are fewer and fewer of them these days and they expect bargains.

Linda Riddle

‘Tis the season for sales. A longer season than usual since what used to be post-Christmas markdowns migrated to pre-Halloween last year. It’s a buyers’ market for those even inclined to buy. There are fewer and fewer of them these days and they expect bargains.

So give them what they want. Small-business owners can take a tip from brand-name marketers and go back to one of the ABCs of attracting customers, especially first-time ones – coupons. More people used them in the past two years than in previous years, reversing a decline in coupon redemption, according to the Promotion Marketing Association, an industry trade group. No more self-consciousness about shopping with coupons. Cheap is chic. For sellers, coupons can be used to help move old inventory, introduce new products and services, or encourage repeat business with next-purchase discounts. There are several ways to add coupons to your marketing mix. More and more Cape businesses, from retailers to restaurants to repair shops, include coupons in their local newspaper advertising and direct mail. Bed Bath & Beyond mails attention-grabbing, outsize postcards trumpeting 20 percent discounts on any one store item. Some utilities permit coupon inserts with their monthly invoices, offering marketers the ability to target by zip code and the likelihood that consumers will open the envelope. Retailer HSN tucked a $15 first-purchase coupon into recent local Comcast statements, for example. Coupons may be printed on packaging, as food companies have long done, or as part of sales receipts, a CVS tactic that encourages future purchases. The Internet also offers marketers creative coupon options. Businesses with dedicated Web sites can offer monthly discount specials, as does Wild Birds Unlimited, a nature specialty store in South Yarmouth. To use the coupon, consumers must print it. If your business doesn’t have a Web site, you can take advantage of one of the many coupon-only Web sites that are attracting more and more on-line traffic. Another on-line approach is to extend discounts exclusively to e-mail lists that you have compiled through customer contact. This is one of the most cost-efficient methods of couponing. It tends to reinforce customer loyalty because purchasers like to feel that they are appreciated with special attention. Catalog retailers L.L. Bean and Garnet Hill are pioneers in using e-mail special offers. In some cases, a buyer clicks through the message to redeem a discount at checkout. An interesting local development that is a variation of couponing is the advent of Cape Cod Community Club (capecodcommunityclub.com), a buy-local, discount club through which registered Cape retailers offer, on average, a 10 percent discount to club members. Consumers pay a $29 annual fee in return for a card that entitles them to reduced prices. The Cape club is modeled after one on Martha’s Vineyard that has been well-received since its inception three years ago. None of these options is restricted to large businesses or to any one type of business. Individual entrepreneurs, artists and consultants can use them, as can restaurant, resort and store owners. In the case of Internet marketing, the technology is there for anyone. You do have to explore the options that best match your target market and your budget. Beyond that, couponing is limited only by your creativity